Video game retailer Game have just announced that they will closing 43 of its stores over the coming months leaving 247 employees jobless. Of the 43 stores 12 of them are Game store 6 of them Gamestation’s which the UK group acquired back in 2007 and all 25 Debenhams concessions stores.
Game
“We are committed to evolving our business to make sure it operates as efficiently as possible while consistently delivering the high standards of service our customers demand.
“We regularly review our entire store portfolio, including our concessions, to maximise the opportunities to reach customers while also ensuring that the business is running as effectively as possible.
“As a result of this review process, and the tougher market conditions that we face in 2010, we have announced our intention to close 12 Game stores, 6 Gamestation stores, and all 25 of our concessions in Debenhams stores. In each location, we have detailed plans to support the customers and employees.
“The majority of the identified sites are located close to another one of our stores, and we will help each customer affected by a closure to transfer to their nearest store as well as our online offerings.
“We will provide extensive support to the teams in each store. However, with deep regret, we have had to offer redundancy to 247 employees. We will do our utmost to redeploy roles if possible, and have started consulting with all affected employees in the 43 sites.
“We are very focused on supporting our people, and thank them for their continued hard work and understanding.”
We hope Game are able to find employment for as many of the staff as possible with in the company, lets us know if your local Game or Gamestation is one of the cstore's closing down. what are we going to do know next time we get dragged into a Debenhams.
Whilst some PS3 users have been able to try the E3 2009 god of war 3 demo for a while now Sony have finally made it available to all, but the thing is a whopping 2.6GB
God of war 3 is due to hit store shelf’s on the 19th of March.
Just in time for the release of the hoth mission pack for Star Wars the force unleashed Lucas arts has dropped some sweet looking avatar clothing on the marketplace so that your virtual doll can play can dress up as a sith apprentice or a storm trooper (way cooler than a clone trooper).
Of course just because it is based on the best movies ever made that does still not excuse you spending your hard earned money on this crap, I am talking to you there in the back.
Bungie has refused to comment on whether their next game after Halo: Reach will be developed for PS3.
Since separating from Microsoft in 2007 the company became free to develop games on multiple platforms. The rumour circulating is that their new title will be available on Sony's console.
However, when asked Bungie’s community boss Brian Jarrard, said:
"I mean, I think our whole future's kind of undefined right now and it's definitely not something we're going to be comfortable getting into too much detail about.”
"We've had another team internally [other than those making Reach] for quite a while now - they've been working on the genesis of what will become our next big thing.”
"It's a little premature to get into specifics, but you know I think we have a really good mix of old blood and new blood in the studio."
Well, he defiantly isn’t denying it, but would you like to see Bungie’s next game go multi-platform, or should they stay with the 360 for now?
American owners of Heavy Rain have been reporting problems that their games freezes along with some players reporting corrupt save data.
It’s too early to find out if the problems will be widespread or just in America, but a Sony representative has released a statement regarding the issue, saying:
"Hi folks, this is just to let you know that the issues reported are being looked into."
"One word of advice we've had already is to avoid switching off your PlayStation while the game is in black screen as this may be affecting your save game. There have been a few reports of incidents where game saves have taken longer than would normally be expected - and with a black screen present it may leave the assumption that the game has crashed. In these circumstances we recommend you wait at least 5 minutes before rebooting."
So, if you decide to buy the game when it’s released this Friday, then make sure you hold on to your receipt, just in case.
The highly anticipated Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, exclusively on PSP was originally intended to be Metal Gear Solid 5.
Konami revealed the information on their official Japanese blog, along with a prototype logo which clearly has a ‘5’ in the title.
Hideo Kojima, the games director, has previously said that Peace Walker was “the MGS5 I had in mind.”
Peace Walker is expected to be released sometime this year, but we’re not sure when that is since Konami pushed the release date back. We’re hoping it’s not too far away.
Nintendo obviously have a lot of faith in Square-Enix’s Dragon Quest IX, because they have decided to publish the game.
The DS exclusive has become the second game this year to be published by Nintendo but developed by a third-party - the other one being Capcom’s Monster Hunter Tri.
Dragon Quest IX is the first game in the main Dragon Quest series to be released exclusively for a handheld and it has sold more than 4.15 million copies since it launched in Japan in July 2009.
We know that the series is very popular here in Europe and America, thanks to the Final Fantasy fans, but will the games success be repeated? We reckon it just might.
Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto will receive the Fellowship at this year's GAME British Academy Video Games Awards next month.
Miyamoto said:
"I am very grateful to be able to receive such an honourable award from the British Academy.”
"Our video games cannot be created by one person; since Donkey Kong until the most recent New Super Mario Bros. Wii, I have been working closely with a number of friends for three decades in order to develop fun and enjoyable games. I would like to receive this honourable award on behalf of all of these dependable colleagues."
David Parfitt, Chairman of the Academy said:
"The Fellowship is the highest accolade the Academy can bestow on an individual for their creative work and we are honoured to have Miyamoto with us to accept his award.”
"With previous honourees including Hitchcock, Kubrick and Pinter, it is only fitting that Miyamoto be recognised alongside these other pioneers for his groundbreaking work. He helped to develop an entire creative industry and is still a major force in its continuing success."
The Video Games BAFTA’s take place on March 19th in London.
Nintendo have announced the release dates for two of it’s biggest titles of 2010 - Mario Galaxy 2 and Metroid: Other M.
Unfortunately they’re on release dates for America, but we’re sure that a European release date wouldn’t be too far off.
Mario Galaxy 2 is set for May 23rd while Metroid: Other M is due out on the 27th of June. Best start saving your pennies.
Also mentioned was the release date for Sin & Punishment 2, which is due out June 7th.
Capcom’s have announced today that their chief operating officer for North America and Europe, Mark Beaumont sadly passed away yesterday morning. He suffered from a sudden heart attack.
A statement from Capcom said:
"Our COO and dear friend, Mark Beaumont, passed away this morning. This sudden loss has left us with deep sadness.”
"Our hearts go out to his family and loved ones. We will remember him for his humour, passion and commitment to Capcom and our industry. He was a great leader and visionary and his spirit will carry on in everything that we do. Please join us in memory of Mark."
Beaumont started at Capcom in 2005, rose to senior vice president and executive vice president, and was promoted to COO in April of 2008. He had previously worked at a variety of other game developers, including Midway, Warner Interactive, Activision, Data East, Mindscape, Psygnosis, and Atari. We send our thoughts to his family and friends.
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